Order-guide.



E. J. BLISS.

ORDER GUIDE.

APPLICATION FILED APR.21,1909.

Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

m4 tFOF COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0,, WASHINGTON, D. C.

ELMER J. BLISS, 0F EDGARTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS.

ORDER-GUIDE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 30, 1912.

Application filed April 21, 1909. Serial No. 491,363.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELMER J. Brass, citizen of the United States, andresident of Edgartown, county of Dukes, Massachusetts, have inventedcertain new and useful Improvements in Order-Guides, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention consists of a guide for ordering merchandise and isintended to pro vide a means whereby the merchant or dealer in orderingarticles of merchandise having different sizes and characteristics is,so to speak, automatically warned of the danger of over-stocking on suchsizes or kinds of merchandise as experience shows are but very little indemand.

The invention consists essentially in a board, card, or sheet containingan area divided into columns headed by inscriptions corresponding to thedifferent sizes of the articles to be ordered, the different columns ordifferent parts of the same column being provided with somecharacteristic distinguishing means by which the relative demand for thedifferent kinds or sizes of articles is graphically illustrated.

For convenience I have illustrated the invention as applicable to bootsand shoes but it is obvious that the principle of the invention isapplicable to many other forms of merchandise.

In practise it is found, particularly in the case of shoe stores, that avery large proportion of failures in business are due to the orderingand purchasing of stock without an intelligent appreciation of thecomparative demand for different styles and sizes of boots and shoes,and it is the object of the present invention to furnish the dealer witha guide constructed and arranged toautomatically warn the dealer when heis in thevery act of filling out the order sheet of the danger of givingconsiderable orders in those styles, sizes or kinds for which there is arelatively small demand.

In the accompanying drawings I have illustrated a simple and convenientform embodying the said invention.

As illustrated in the drawings a suitable board, card, or sheet isprovided with a ruled area divided into columns headed by inscriptionsindicating the various sizes or other characteristic of the articles tobe ordered.

The form illustrated is particularly applicable to boots and shoes andcomprises an area divided by vertical columns, at the head of which areplaced in a progressive series the numerals indicating the various sizesof the shoes. These columns are divided into vertical divisions by meansof horizontal lines, the inscriptions at the left hand end thereof beingarranged to show the progressive widths of the shoes to be ordered. Theareas or sections formed by the intersection of the horizontal rulingswith the vertical rulings may again be subdivided into sub-areas orsections adapted to contain such information in regard to stock on handor otherwise as may be useful to the dealer in making up his order. Forexample, in the sub-division at the upper left hand corner of eachprincipal square may be set down the number of pairs of shoes of theparticular style on hand; in the right hand upper sub-division may beset down the number indicating the pairs of shoes of the same specialstyle; in the lower left.

hand subdivision may be set down the number denoting the number of pairsalready ordered but not delivered, while in the lower right handsub-division which is inclosed in heavier lines than the othersub-divisions, may be set down all pairs for which it is desired to givea new order.

In order to indicate clearly the relative demand for any particularsizes and widths, the areas formed by the intesecting columns aredifferentiated from each other, either by different colors, shading, orotherwise, so that thedealer in filling out his order sheet in accordance with this guide will be apprised by the color or otherdistinctive peculiarity which forms the background for the differentsizes and widths, of the danger of accumulating those sizes and widthswhich are little called for.

Now I have found by investigations covering a very large number ofsales, that the sizes which would fill in the middle or central portionof the area of the order guide, generally speaking would compriseapproximately 80 per cent. of the demand in certain styles of shoes;that approximately 16 per cent. of the total demand would be included inthose sizes bordering upon this central area; that about three per cent.of the total demand would be represented generally speaking by thesquares or sections immediately surrounding the last-mentioned group ofspaces, while the corner portions generally speaking would representonly one per cent. of the total. demand. In the practise of thisinvention therefore I provide the central portion of the guide for thosesizes and widths for which there is a steady and constant: demand withlet us say a white background, while those sections or squarescorresponding to the and widths for which there is a considerable,although a smaller demand may be termed with a blue background. The muchsmaller demand for the sizes and widths adjacent to or surrounding theblue portions of the guide are colored yellow to indicate that orderstalling upon this part of the guide should be given with extreme cautionin view of the small demand, while the extreme portions of the guide forwhich there exists an even smaller demand, may be colored red toindicate the extreme danger of orders falling on that color.

The guide may be used in various ways, all utilizing the same principle.Thus it may be termed upon a board or card and the dealer may besupplied with substantially transparent order sheets oi thin paper ruledto correspond to the guide so that when the order sheet is superimposed,the colors will show through the sheet and thus serve as a guide in.lilling out the order sheet itself. On the other hand the order sheetitself may form the guide and may be printed in colors so that inentering the quantities in the dit t'ereut spaces the dealer isauton'iatically cautioned against filling out his orders on a scaledisproportionate to the demand. In this latter case the sub-division, ofthe squares formed by the intersecting columns forms a convenient meansfor keeping account ot stock on hand, stock ordered and not delivered,and other information, it being preferred to surround that one of thesub-sections which to receive the order tor new goods with a heavierline to distinguish it from the other sub-sections, so as to avoid anyerror that might be caused by the confusion of figures indicating saystock on hand with the figures ot' the new order to be given.

l i hile I prefer the use of ditlerent colors or shading as a means ofditl'erentiating the various columns or parts of columns from oneanother to indicate the relative demands for the merchandise, yet I donot confine myself to this particular means of indicating suchdifferences, as the different sections may be distinguished from eachother in various ways.

\Vhat I claim is:-

1. A guide sheet for ordering shoes or other articles, embracing asubstantially ree tangular area divided into vertical and horizontalcolumns which intersect to term a series of mnnber-receiving spaces, oneof said sets of columns being bordered by a progressive series ofsize-indicating inscriptions, the other set of columns which extendacross the size-indicating columns being bordered by inscriptionsdenoting dilterent widths, the ditt'erent portions of said sheet beingmade with distinctive backgrminds in accordance with and indicative ofthe relative demand for the ditlerentsizes and widths to be ordered,substantially as described 2. A guide sheet for orocring shoes or otherarticles, embracing a substantially rectangular area divided intovertical and. horizontal columns intersecting to form a series ofmunber-receiving spaces, said number-rcceiving spaces being divided intosub-divisions or sections, one of said sets of colun'ins being borderedby a progressive series of size-indicating inscriptions, the other setof columns extending across the size-indicating columns being borderedby inscriptions dcnoting different widths, the ditlerent portions ofsaid sheet being differently colored to accord with and indicate therelative demand for the different sizes and widths to be ordered,substantially as described.

In witness whereof, I have subscribed the above specification.

ELMER J. BLISS. In. the presence ot' T. G. NUGENT, A. E. HOLMES.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressingthe Commissioner of Patents. Washington, D. G.

